The Edo State Government has denied that its transition committee is withholding vital documents that will aid the work of the Edo Joint Transition Committee inaugurated on October 18.

The state government transition team said this at a news conference on Wednesday in Benin City.

The state team said that the documents demanded by the APC committee could not be handed over by the state government team.

According to the state government team, only Governor Godwin Obaseki can hand over the documents to the governor-elect, Senator Monday Okpebholo.

The state government was reacting to an allegation made by the APC committee on Tuesday, claiming that Governor Obaseki’s transition team was concealing vital documents that could assist the joint committee’s work.

The Edo State Joint Transition Committee held its inaugural session on October 18 to ensure a smooth power transfer between the outgoing and incoming administrations.

Secretary to the APC team, Patrick Ikhariale, had said that the documents provided by the Edo State government did not address the issues raised by the APC transition committee.

Mr Ikhariale stated, “We have also as a committee requested that any document or information given to us should be provided at least 24 hours before meetings. This will allow us time to review the materials thoroughly, so we don’t end up discussing abstract concepts during the meetings.’’

According to Mr Ikhariale, the APC committee hoped to reconvene soon, pending the receipt of the necessary documents from the state government.

Responding to the allegations, the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, stated that Mr Obaseki would hand over full details of all documents to his successor on November 12.

Mr Nehikhare explained that the Edo State government had already provided soft copies of the thematic pillars for the committee’s report and had also fulfilled the request for hard copies.

He wondered why the APC transition committee members failed to attend the meeting on Tuesday, and Wednesday, having waited for over two hours without any appearance from the APC committee members

“It is quite embarrassing to hear that the APC transition committee members claimed we are withholding vital documents from them. All documents concerning Edo’s assets have been provided in these hard copies, covering 90 per cent of their request. The APC committee is asking questions that only the chief executive officer of the state can handover to another chief executive officer and they are not the governor-elect. Until November 12, Obaseki and his team remain in charge and will dictate the process, we cannot take instructions from anyone else,” Mr Nehikhare said.

Mr Nehikhare also disclosed that the political office holders in Obaseki’s transition committee would submit their report on October 30, after which only civil servants would be available to the APC transition committee.

Mr Nehikhare noted, “Those close to them should tell them to be patient, if they wish to verify infrastructure projects such as roads, schools and others; we are prepared to provide them with the information. If they wish to visit the project sites for verification, we will gladly facilitate their visits that are the role of a transition committee. What we will not do is respond to inquiries in a manner akin to a school setting,”

(NAN)